Oh yeah, smell is their primary sense since their eyes aren't that great. Their territories in the wild could cover miles so they would use scent trails to find eachother. Having a lady across a room is going to be right up in your little man's face lol
My girl is not affectionate in the first place but she's even less interested in me now there's a boy about haha I have to break it to her she's never going to actually meet him. What a lucky side effect for you that it's made him more cuddly!
I would post another thread about a possible cold or do a quick search for other threads. I don't think a water dish would cause that (they don't have water bottles in the wild!) but they can catch colds. Unfortunately I am not the person to advise on treatment!